Chuck vs The End
by ersk4
Summary: A new intersect has been built and as a result, Chuck's life is in danger. But a mysterious man and woman intervene and save him.
1. The Beginning

CHUCK VS. THE END

SUMMARY: A new intersect has been built and as a result, Chuck's life is in danger. But a mysterious man and woman intervene and save him.

NOTE: I know it will never happen this way on "Chuck." I just got this idea one day and decided to have some fun. I hope you have fun reading this!

PART 1 - THE BEGINNING

Looking back on the day, Chuck Bartowski recalled that it started just like any other day. He got up, showered, dressed, ate a quick breakfast, got into the Nerd Herd car, drove to work, parked, walked into the BuyMore, punched in and set up for work at the Nerd Herd Help Desk. Everything started out just like any other day.

But then three things happened that changed the whole course of the day and the whole course of his life.

The first thing that happened that was different from every other day was that Sarah came in to see him. Sarah visiting Chuck in the BuyMore wasn't anything different. Sarah often came to the BuyMore to see him. But what made this time so different was the reason for her visit.

Chuck used to love Sarah's visits. But after that mission in which she had gotten injured rescuing him, Bryce had warned Chuck that Sarah obviously had feelings for Chuck and that such emotions could get her killed.

Finally knowing for sure that Sarah felt the same way about him as he did about her thrilled Chuck. But the thought of Sarah getting hurt or even killed because of him was too much. So, despite everything that he felt for Sarah, he lied and said that he didn't want a real relationship with her.

So now Chuck didn't look forward as much to her visits to the BuyMore. He assumed that she needed to see him for a new mission and said as much.

"No," she responded. "I came here to see you. I want to talk to you."

"About a mission, right?" he reiterated.

"No. I want to talk to you." She stopped for a moment and seemed to hesitate about what to say next. Then she looked straight into Chuck's eyes and said "I want to talk to you about what you said last week about not wanting a real relationship with me."

That surprised Chuck. She usually kept her feelings buried. But here, now, she said that she wanted to talk about the real relationship. Chuck didn't know how to respond to that. "Well, the BuyMore Nerd Herd Help Desk isn't exactly the best place for that type of conversation," Chuck finally responded.

"Fine. Let's go somewhere during lunch or tonight after work to talk."

Chuck was just about to reply in the affirmative when the second thing happened which turned his usual day into unusual.

"Chuck Bartowski, my name is Charles and I desperately need your help," a man said as he walked up to the Nerd Herd Help Desk.

Both Chuck and Sarah turned to the man. He was older, in his 50s, had gray hair, about average height and build, and appeared to be very anxious.

"I talked to your manager and he said that you were the best in the Nerd Herd. I have a big computer problem back at my office and I need help now! I cleared a service call with him and I was wondering if you could come with me now!" The man named Charles really emphasized "now" each time he used it.

"Sure, just one moment," Chuck replied. He turned toward Sarah intending to tell her that he would meet and talk with her but the man persisted.

"I really need your help now and it's very important that we leave now Mr. Bartowski."

"No problem. Just let me take care of this lady and I'll be right with you."

"Mr. Bartowski, we need to leave NOW!" Charles said with a pleading look on his face.

Before Chuck could reply to that, the third thing happened that made the start of this day different from all of his other usual days.

Four men, dressed in dark suits walked up to the Nerd Herd Help Desk, positioned themselves around it. One of the men, stood in front of Chuck and flashed a CIA ID card.

"Mr. Bartowski, you need to come with us!"

"Too late," Charles muttered with a shake of his head.

"Wait!" Sarah yelled and stepped forward. "What's going on? I wasn't told anything about this."

"Do not interfere Agent Walker," the man who seemed to be in charge said. "The intersect is no longer your concern. We've been ordered to bring him in."

"I wasn't told anything about this," Sarah repeated.

"You are now being told. We are leaving with the intersect."

"Then let me come with him," she said.

"As I told you before, the intersect is no longer your concern or your duty. We'll be leaving now and we're taking the intersect with us."

He and the other agents moved forward. But then Charles spoke. "Chuck won't be going anywhere with you."

"Sir, this is a matter of national security. Do not interfere," the agent replied.

"Chuck is not going with you," Charles said again.

"Sir, do not interfere or we might have to get violent. And, frankly, I like to get violent."

Then from behind all of them, a female voice loudly proclaimed "So do I!"

And then, all hell broke loose.


	2. The Battle

CHUCK VS. THE END

SUMMARY: A new intersect has been built and as a result, Chuck's life is in danger. But a mysterious man and woman intervene and save him.

NOTE: I know it will never happen this way on "Chuck." I just got this idea one day and decided to have some fun. I hope you have fun reading this!

PART 2 - THE BATTLE

One agent was suddenly flung up in the air and landed three aisles over with a loud thud. Another agent was grabbed and hurled into a huge shelf of electrical products. The shelf tip and crashed over into other shelves and as they toppled like dominoes, merchandise fell out and spilled onto the floor and onto anybody in the way, including Sarah and Chuck, who were knocked to the floor, stunned.

The agent who had done all of the talking pulled out a gun. But the man, Charles, grabbed him and they struggled. Charles got the agent's arm up in the air and the gun went off, firing repeatedly into the store ceiling. The bullets didn't hit anyone but they caused an uproar. Customers and employees screamed and ran. A stampede ensued toward the exit.

Chuck! Sarah thought. Where was Chuck? She turned her head. He was the floor, having been snowed under by merchandise that had fallen off one of the shelves. He shook his head and started to stand up. "Chuck! NO!" she screamed. "Stay down!" He didn't seem to hear her. He seemed dazed or in shock.

Sarah heard more gun shots. She looked. That man, Charles, and the agent were still struggling and the gun was firing up into the store ceiling again. Then Sarah saw the woman.

She was tall, blonde hair and dressed entirely in black. And she was literally mopping the floor with the agents that came to take Chuck away. She had already subdued two of them with all the ease of swatting some flies. Now she walked calmly and deliberately toward Charles and the other agent who were still struggling. Once there, she grabbed the agent's gun hand, twisted and the gun fell to the floor as the agent screamed in agony. Then she grabbed the agent with both her hands and threw him into a column. He slumped to the floor and did not get up.

Then the woman turned and walked toward the remaining conscious agent, the one that had been shoved into the shelves. He was just now getting up. At the same time, John Casey came running toward the scene. He headed toward the woman who continued walking toward the rising agent. She seemed not to notice Casey's approach. But when Casey got close, she flicked out one arm like a rod, hit Casey full in the face and he fell back about 12 feet and dropped to the ground.

Sarah got up and rushed toward Chuck who was shaking his head. She helped him up. "Come on Chuck, I have to get you out of here." She tried to pull him away but he seemed a little woozy or dizzy as he just stood there, shaking his head.

"CHUCK!"

Charles, the man, had screamed Chuck's name. Chuck looked over Sarah's head and suddenly his eyes got big. Then, with strength that surprised Sarah, he pushed her out of the way and onto the ground. Sarah looked up to see what was happening. The agent that the woman was approaching had drawn his gun and was aiming it at Chuck. "CHUCK! GET DOWN!" Sarah screamed. But it was too late. With horror, she realized that Chuck was going to get shot and she couldn't do anything to save him.

But the woman could and did. Seeing what was about to happen, she leaped toward Chuck, grabbed him with both arms, and hugged him to her, acting as a shield when the agent pulled the trigger.

He fired five times and every bullet hit the woman in the back. But much to Sarah's astonishment, the bullets didn't faze the woman. They did nothing other than put holes in her black leather jacket. No blood burst from her back. No screams of pain or agony. She didn't even flinch.

Sarah couldn't believe it. Neither, apparently, could the agent who fired the shots. He stopped shooting, muttered "What the hell?" and stared in shock. With unbelievable speed, the woman released Chuck, rushed that agent, knocked the gun from his hand and then gripped his neck with both her hands and slammed him against a shelf which promptly toppled over. She looked squarely in the agent's face who screamed in terror.

"RUBY!" Charles yelled.

The woman, Ruby, turned toward Charles and snarled, "HE RUINED MY FAVORITE JACKET!" Then she turned back to the agent she had by the neck, who screamed again in terror!

"RUBY!" Charles yelled again.

Ruby didn't move. "Ruby, I'll buy you a new jacket. Check the perimeter – NOW!" Charles ordered.

Ruby stood still for a moment and then she held up the shaking, whimpering agent by the neck with one hand as if he were weightless, and tossed him aside with a mere flick of her arm. He crashed roughly against a column and fell to the ground.

"I'M ON IT!" Ruby screamed and stalked off.

Things had gotten considerably quieter in the store. Merchandise was scattered in the aisles nearby. A lot of shelves were tipped over. And not many people had hung around to see what was happening.

Chuck! Sarah thought, I've got to get Chuck out of here. She rushed to his side. Then, she spied a gun that one of the agents dropped on the floor, about six feet away. She went for it.

But a foot kicked it out of her reach. She looked up. The man, Charles stood there, pointing a gun.

"Don't!" he said. He looked over at Chuck. "Sarah, Chuck needs to come with me now."

"You're not taking him," Sarah yelled and at the same time wondered how the man knew her name.

"Sarah, I know how you feel about Chuck. I know that you're in love with him. But he's in great danger. They've built a new intersect and they consider Chuck a threat, a liability. They issued a termination order on him. I can protect him. He needs to come with me."

"He's staying with me," Sarah said firmly.

Charles waved his hand toward some of the unconscious agents. "You saw what happened. They came to get Chuck. They weren't taking him for a vacation, Sarah. And when things got sticky, when it didn't look like they could take him, they tried to kill Chuck. You saw that, didn't you? Chuck needs to come with me or he'll die. I can help him. Let me help him. You don't want him to die, do you?"

The man was right. They had tried to kill Chuck. And she didn't want Chuck to die. But she still couldn't let him take Chuck away from her. "He's staying with me," she repeated.

Sarah wasn't sure how exactly she could do that without a weapon. She changed tactics. "Let me come with him. We'll both go with you," she said.

Charles shook his head. "You can't get involved in this Sarah. You're with the CIA. The CIA and the NSA are behind this. If you came with us, it would cause too many problems. You can't come along. Chuck needs to come with me now."

"He's not going anywhere without me," she insisted.

Charles looked a little sad. "I'm sorry Sarah. I'm truly sorry. But it has to be done this way." Then he looked behind Sarah and nodded.

Sarah was suddenly grabbed from behind, pulled up, turned and found herself face-to-face with that woman – Ruby. She was helpless in Ruby's strong and firm grip.

"Sorry blondie," Ruby sneered. "Chucky is coming with me. But I know how you feel about him. So I'll kiss him good night for you every night when I tuck him in." And then she waved her hand over Sarah's face, said "Sleep!" and let Sarah go, who fell to the floor unconscious.

"SARAH!" Chuck screamed and ran to her. But Ruby stepped in front of him and stopped him. She held onto Chuck with one hand and turned toward Charles. "I'll need to mark him in order to protect him." Charles nodded.

Ruby picked Chuck up effortlessly and placed him on his back on the Nerd Herd Help Desk counter. She stepped between his legs and then leaned down on top of him, her face very close to Chuck's.

"I generally don't mark this way. But you are just so cute and I really like you! So I'm going to make an exception in your case," she said seductively. And then she kissed him – hard!

And as she kissed him, Chuck felt as if something was pressing, pushing into his head, his mind. It hurt a little and made things go black. Things stayed black when that pushing sensation stopped and her lips released his. He could feel her helping him up and hanging onto him. He heard the man, Charles, say that they needed to leave. And then Chuck felt himself dragged along.

The trio walked out of the BuyMore like customers who had just finished shopping.


	3. Where is Chuck?

CHUCK VS. THE END

SUMMARY: A new intersect has been built and as a result, Chuck's life is in danger. But a mysterious man and woman intervene and save him.

NOTE: I know it will never happen this way on "Chuck." I just got this idea one day and decided to have some fun. I hope you have fun reading this!

PART 3 - WHERE IS CHUCK

Sarah opened her eyes to see a bruised John Casey. He was standing over her, watching her and he had a butterfly bandage on his forehead holding together a nasty looking cut. There was also a very big bruise on the left side of face. "Nice that you're finally awake Walker," he said.

"Where is Chuck?" she asked immediately. Casey didn't answer.

She stood up and looked around.

Amidst all of the knocked down shelves and tables and scattered and spilled merchandise, a lot was happening in the BuyMore. Off to one side of the store, agents were questioning BuyMore employees and customers. Other agents were gathered around the Nerd Herd Help Desk dusting it for fingerprints. One of the agents who came to take Chuck, the one that did all of the talking when they arrived was now talking to several others trying to explain what happened. Some paramedics were carting another agent who had come to take Chuck off on a stretcher. He looked pretty beaten up. The agent who had tried to kill Chuck, who had fired those shots, was huddled on the floor with his hands in his face and whining -- literally. Two paramedics were alongside of him trying to help him, trying to calm him down. But he just continued whining. And the fourth agent was sitting on the floor also being attended to by paramedics. He had one arm in a sling and bandages on his face.

Sarah saw everybody except for the one person she wanted to see most. Chuck!

"Where is Chuck?" she asked Casey again.

Casey just shook his head. "I was like you Walker. I was on the floor in dreamland. I woke up to this too," he said.

"Those people took Chuck," she said.

"And that's about all we know," Casey replied. "We have no idea who they are, who they're with, what they wanted – other than Bartowski – no ID, no car, no license plate, no nothing!"

"The store video cameras!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Nothing! Nada! Zip!" The recordings show nothing but blank tape. They're now checking the parking lot cameras. They're even checking the outdoor security cameras from every store on this block hoping to find SOME image of those two people or a getaway car. But I'm not holding my breath." He made a motion toward the Nerd Herd desk. "They're dusting that and the shelves to see if they can pick up some prints from those two and try to get a match in the database. But who knows how many people have touched all the furniture in here. I don't suppose they introduced themselves to you or Bartowski before all of this went down?"

"The man said his name was Charles and he called that woman Ruby."

"That helps a lot," Casey snorted. "Still, if we can put together some drawings of them from witnesses. I don't hold much hope on him helping us." Casey pointed at the one agent who had tried to shoot Chuck and ended up face-to-face with the woman, Ruby. He still had his hands clamped to his face and was still whimpering.

"Did you get a good look at the two," he asked.

"Yes! Both of them!" Sarah said.

Casey was silent for a moment as he surveyed the scene. Then he shook his head and muttered "I don't know. This is weird! This is weird!"

"What?" Sarah asked.

"This whole thing. I'm hearing some strange stuff." He turned toward Sarah.

"Several witnesses that we've talked to so far said that one agent shot that girl FIVE times in the back. She wasn't killed, she didn't even flinch, they said. Walker, you know as well as I do that even the best vest wouldn't prevent the force of impact. You get shot once in the vest and you get knocked down. Sure you're not dead but the force of that bullet hitting you hurts and it knocks you down or something! But she took five bullets in succession to her back and didn't even so much as shudder or shake! And everybody says that she threw one agent over those three shelves like she was throwing a pebble. You were right here Walker! Did that really happen?"

Sarah had seen exactly what was described. The same thoughts that Casey voiced occurred to her too. The girl, Ruby, had shielded Chuck from the gunfire on purpose and taken the bullets meant for Chuck. When those bullets hit Ruby in the back, all Sarah had seen was some pieces of clothing fly up – no blood. Ruby could have been vested but Casey was right. The impact of those bullets would have – should have – at least knocked her to the ground.

Something was weird, just like Casey said, she thought. And then it occurred to her that those people, whoever they were, had Chuck. The man, Charles, said that they were going to protect Chuck. Who were they? How did they know all about the intersect and even her feelings for Chuck. Would they really protect him? Or would they hurt him or kill him? She didn't want to think about that last part.

Instead, for the third time, she asked out loud, "Where is Chuck?"

And for the third time, no one answered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chuck opened his eyes and raised his head. He was lying in a bed. His shoes were off and a blanket was draped over him. He looked around in the room he was in. It was a large room, old fashion-looking with a big wooden shelf filled with old books. Off to one side was a cabinet. And next to the bed was a small table, which had his wallet, keys, Nerd Herd ID badge, pen, and cell phone.

Cell phone! Chuck thought. He grabbed it, opened it up and pressed the speed dial for Sarah. He put the phone to his ear waiting for Sarah to answer.

Nothing happened. No ringing noise. No dial tone. He looked at the cell phone readout. Nothing. Thinking the phone was turned off, he pressed the on button. Nothing happened. He pressed again. Still nothing. He checked the battery. Everything looked good. He had recharged the battery yesterday, so the battery should have more than enough power. He pressed the on button again. Nothing.

He looked around the room. There was a window and it was open. He looked outside. It looked like he was in a forest or woods. He didn't see any guards outside or nearby. Should I try escaping? He thought. The house was a one-story building. He could jump out, make a run for it and try to find some place or someone that had a phone. Should I? he thought again. He couldn't help but wonder what Sarah would do.

He put on his shoes, grabbed all of his stuff from the table and went out the window. He ran into the woods. There was a path. He followed it, running all of the way. After a while, he tired and slowed his pace. He looked behind him. No pursuit! As far as he could tell, no one was following him!

He kept going and then he saw it. A house! A small house just off of the path. He ran up to it and banged on the front door.

"It's open! Come in!" a voice cried.

Chuck flung open the door. "Hi! I'm lost and I was wondering if I could use your –"

He stopped at what he saw. He had walked into what appeared to be a living room with a couch, loveseat, bookshelves, and lamps. And there, lying on the couch with a book in her hands was that woman who had clobbered all of those agents and knocked out Sarah. Ruby! She lay on her back on the couch and held the book above her head, reading. Her eyes never strayed from the pages as she asked "Did you have a nice walk, Chucky?"

Chuck yelped and ran out of the house. He ran down to the path and kept running until he tired out. He slowed down to a walk. He kept going for … well, he didn't know how far he had traveled. After a few minutes, he saw a building or house in the distance.

Chuck quickened his pace and headed toward it. It was a different house, definitely a different house. He walked up to the front door and knocked. Nothing. He knocked again. Still nothing. He looked through the window next to the door. Everything appeared to be dark inside and he couldn't see anyone or any signs of life. He tried the door. Unlocked. He walked in.

And it was the same living room that he had walked into at the other house. Again, there was Ruby lying on the couch reading a book. She didn't say anything or even look at Chuck as he walked in. Chuck dashed back out the door.

This time, he ran off of the path and through the woods. After a while, he came upon a road. He turned right and followed it. He walked for a while and in that time, no cars passed by. He continued walking and then he spotted a building in the distance. Chuck increased his pace and when he got close enough to see what the building was, he paused in shock.

It was a BuyMore, a BuyMore store out in the middle of nowhere. It can't be! Can it? he thought. He stared at it for a few minutes and then finally walked toward it. It looked real. It seemed real. He walked inside.

And found himself once again in the same living room with Ruby lying on the same couch reading the same book.

"OK, OK … I give up!" Chuck groaned as he threw up his hands in resignation. He plopped down in the loveseat, leaned his head back and panted. He was tired and had had enough. Ruby kept reading her book and didn't say anything. "I give up," he said again. "I'll be your model prisoner!"

"You're not my prisoner, Chucky, you're my responsibility," Ruby said without looking away from the book she read.

What did that mean? Chuck thought. He was finally able to stop panting. What did any of this mean? He thought.

"Am I going crazy?" he asked loudly. "Have I been drugged, hypnotized? Am I in a holo-deck or something?"

"Let's go with 'or something,'" Ruby answered him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chuck didn't attempt any more escapes. They were pointless, he decided.

Three days passed and he still didn't have a clue as to where he was or who or what Ruby was. She was beautiful; there was no denying that, although not nearly as beautiful as Sarah, Chuck thought. She had long blonde hair, bright green eyes and was about six feet tall. She always wore black – black shirt, black leather pants, black leather jacket and black high heels.

She never asked him about the intersect or anything to do with the work he did with Sarah and Casey. When he asked her questions about how long he would be held here, what was going on or what were their plans for him, she was always evasive. "All in good time Chucky!" was a frequent answer.

The house, although old looking and without phones, televisions or computers, was nice and comfortable.

Ruby never tortured him or threatened him, much to his relief as he well remembered what she did to those four agents at the BuyMore. And whenever he made any reference to being a prisoner or in prison, she always gave him the same line about him not being her prisoner but her responsibility.

And she seemed genuinely concerned about him. She prepared and cooked all of the meals, urged him to eat, to keep up his strength, saying that Sarah would be very upset if he didn't take care of himself. There were always fresh clothes for him. Once when he went to bed at night and just plopped down on top in his clothes and shoes, he woke up to discover that his shoes had been removed and a blanket had been put over him.

And this past night, he couldn't sleep. He kept lying in bed, worried, miserable and missing Sarah. He kept changing positions, hoping that he would finally get comfortable and nod off. But nothing helped. Then Ruby appeared. She sat down on the side of the bed, grabbed his arm and pushed him onto his stomach. Then, with strong, sure hands, she massaged his back, shoulders and neck.

Chuck wasn't comfortable with that. He didn't know this woman. But he also didn't feel like telling Ruby what she could or could not do, knowing that her hands could probably snap him in two with little or no effort. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine that it was Sarah who was with him, who was giving him this massage. He fell asleep with that thought.

And then he dreamed of Sarah. They were together, on the couch, at his home. They were seated closely together. He had one arm around her shoulders. She snuggled against him. Her head was against his chest and he could smell her. Smell her hair, her perfume … her. She leaned up to look at him and smiled brightly.

Chuck woke up. He wasn't home. Nor was he with Sarah. He was still in the place with Ruby. The image of Sarah stayed with him for a long time.


	4. Conversations

CHUCK VS. THE END

SUMMARY: A new intersect has been built and as a result, Chuck's life is in danger. But a mysterious man and woman intervene and save him.

NOTE: I know it will never happen this way on "Chuck." I just got this idea one day and decided to have some fun. I hope you have fun reading this!

PART 4 - CONVERSATIONS

It had been three days since Chuck's disappearance. The official status was "Missing, Presumed Kidnapped." But Sarah didn't know what to think about it. Since Chuck had been taken, there had been no ransom note, no clues, no trace or sign of him or the two people who had taken him. The incident had been big news for the local newspapers and TV stations. The CIA and NSA had tried to squelch any stories. But when they realized how many customers and employees had seen what happened at the BuyMore, they knew that a gas leak or some other cover-up story wouldn't work. So they went with "Missing, Presumed Kidnapped."

Charles and Ruby's descriptions and sketches had been fed into every database and nothing had been found. All security cameras within a block of the BuyMore had been checked and nothing on any of them. All tapes were mysteriously blank. Any fingerprints that had been retrieved from the area in the BuyMore where the fight had taken place brought up nothing. And absolutely no signs of Chuck, Ruby and Charles anywhere. It was as if they had vanished from Earth.

Witnesses had been unable to provide any consistent and rational clues or leads. Agents had interviewed every employee and customer they could find who claimed to have seen what happened. But many accounts varied and differed. The accounts of the fight, of what they had seen that woman, Ruby, do, got more outlandish and exaggerated with each interview. Lester and Jeff, those two Nerd Herders at the BuyMore who worked with Chuck, had especially exaggerated versions of the fight. They had even described Ruby as a female Terminator and had claimed that Ruby and Chuck had kissed.

Sarah shook her head at the thought of Ruby kissing Chuck. She certainly did not like that image!

Since Chuck's kidnapping, Sarah and Casey had found out that what Charles had said about a new intersect being built and a termination order issued on Chuck had been true. If Chuck had been taken by those four agents, he probably never would have been seen again.

Sarah trembled at that. When she got this assignment to protect the intersect, to protect Chuck, she knew such a possibility existed, that someday Chuck might be taken away or an order might come down for him to be terminated. But as time went on and she got to know Chuck and got closer and closer to him, she pushed such thoughts further back in her mind. She didn't want to think about them – ever!

She always knew that she could never be the one to take him away or terminate him. And she also knew that she would do everything in her power to prevent either from happening. But could she? She hoped that what Charles had said about being able to protect Chuck was true.

She unlocked the door to the Orange Orange. As she did, her eyes went to the flyer taped to the window. "Have you seen this man?" big bold letters proclaimed on it, along with "Reward!" and a picture of Chuck.

Ellie, Chuck's sister, had made up those signs and she and Devon and others had distributed them and posted them all over town after Chuck had been taken. Ellie had amazed Sarah these past few days. Ellie had, of course, gotten very upset when Sarah gave her the news that Chuck had been taken but she quickly channeled her emotions into efforts to help find her brother. She did those flyers, she got Morgan and some of the BuyMore Nerd Herders to set up a website to spread the word worldwide, she consulted with the police, the F.B.I., anybody on anything that could be done to help locate Chuck, and she checked on Sarah every day by visiting or calling.

Sarah insisted to Ellie that she was all right and didn't need to be checked on. To which Ellie replied "Sarah, you're family and Chuck would want me to make sure you're all right."

That astounded Sarah and before she could reply, Ellie continued.

"I've never told you this Sarah but you have been the best thing that has ever happened to Chuck. I never liked any of his previous girl friends. I always thought that they didn't appreciate him for what he was, that they were just using him. But I put up with them because Chuck liked them. Jill, his girl friend in college, was typical of that. When she broke up with him after everything that happened at Stanford, he was so upset and just a wreck after that. I wondered if he would ever be the same.

"And then you came along. He changed, he was happy, and he was so hung up on you. I could see it in how he talked about you and how he acted about you. I wondered about you and then I met you. I saw how you looked at him and as time went on, it was so easy to see that you appreciated and accepted him for what he was.

"I saw so many little things that you did that proved that to me. One morning when he left for work, I was looking out the window and I saw him talking to you and John. While the three of you talked, you reached up and straightened his hair and took lint off of his shirt. Then when you all walked off to go to work, you put your arm through his. And I knew then that Chuck had finally found her.

"That's one reason I was so furious with him when he told me that he had broken up with you and was seeing that girl, Lou, from the sandwich shop. I kept asking him why he broke up with you and what happened but he was so evasive. He had made the biggest mistake of his life and I told him that. I was so relieved when Lou ended and he got back with you.

"You're family Sarah and I hoped …." Ellie paused and then changed from the past tense to the present tense. "I HOPE that Chuck will someday make that official by …."

She couldn't continue as she started crying. Sarah couldn't hold back the tears either.

Overall, Ellie seem to be holding up better than she had, Sarah thought. Yesterday, when Ellie visited, she expressed concerns about Sarah, telling her that she didn't look good.

Sarah didn't feel good. She hadn't been sleeping well since Chuck's disappearance. During the brief sleep she got last night, she had dreamed about Chuck. They had been together, on the couch at his apartment, seated together, and holding each other. She swore that she could smell him. The dream had seemed so real and wonderful. When she awoke from it, she cursed that it hadn't lasted longer and that it hadn't been real.

She walked inside Orange Orange and immediately spotted a cellular phone. It was sitting by the cash register. It was a small, black, cheap looking plastic cellular phone. It wasn't hers and Sarah was sure that it had not been there when she left yesterday. It was right in plain sight in front of the register. Surely she would have noticed it. But where did it come from? How did it get there? She picked up the phone and it immediately rang.

She looked at the readout. No ID. She answered it, "Hello?"

"Hey blondie, I guess you woke up OK from that little nap I gave you!"

Sarah's blood boiled. IT WAS HER! RUBY!

"WHERE IS CHUCK?" She screamed into the phone.

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With the phone tucked between her ear and shoulder, Ruby stirred pancake batter as she listened to the threats Sarah yelled into the phone. My, my, blondie does it have bad for Chucky, doesn't she? Ruby thought. And then she said loudly, "Do you want to talk to Chucky?"

Sarah went silent and Ruby added, "This phone call is going to last about three minutes. I think you've used about 30 seconds. Do you want to use the remaining two-and-a-half minutes screaming at me or talking to your boy friend?"

"PUT CHUCK ON!" Sarah demanded.

Chuck had just walked into the kitchen. Ruby stopped stirring the batter and held out the phone to him. "What's this?" he asked.

"Your girl friend is on the phone. Tell her that you love her, she needs to hear that," Ruby said.

Chuck grabbed the phone. "Sarah? Sarah?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chuck! It was Chuck. He's alive, Sarah thought with relief.

"Sarah? Are you OK? Are you all right?" he asked.

"Chuck, I'm all right." she replied. He had been taken, was being held and he was worrying about her. She couldn't believe it.

"I was just worried when I saw Ruby knock you out. I –"

"Chuck! Has she hurt you? Has she done anything to you?" Sarah asked.

"No, no! Ruby's been really nice to me," he replied.

WHAT – DOES – THAT – MEAN? Sarah thought angrily. But she quickly pushed that thought back. There wasn't time.

"Chuck listen to me, listen to me." He got quiet. "Chuck, they were right. A new intersect had been built and they considered you a liability. They were right. You were in danger. I'm trying to get that stopped, so is Casey. We're trying to get it stopped. But you're still in danger. So .…" She hesitated. "Chuck, as much as I hate to say this, the best place for you may be where you are. I think you're safe there. So you need to stay there with …." She didn't want to say it but she had to for his sake. "You need to stay there with her until we get this straightened out. OK?"

"OK," he said. "I will."

He sounds so lost, Sarah thought. She almost started crying. But she couldn't, she had to be strong for his sake. TELL HIM, TELL HIM, a voice in her head screamed at her.

"Chuck, there's something I need to tell you." She hesitated. TELL HIM! "Chuck, I need you to know that I lo…." She hesitated again. TELL HIM!

"Sarah, what are you trying to—"

The phone went dead.

"NOOOOOOO!" Sarah screamed as she hurled the phone against the wall in frustration just as Ellie walked through the door. Ellie turned white and rushed to Sarah and gripped her arms.

"Sarah! What is it? Is it Chuck? Did something happen to Chuck? Is he dead? Please Sarah, please don't let him be dead!" Ellie cried.

"No, no, no Ellie. Chuck's OK, he's OK. He's not dead! He's not dead. He's OK, I just talked to him."

"They found him! They found Chuck?"

"No, no. Whoever has him, allowed me to talk to him. They wouldn't let him talk long but he's alive and he seemed OK," Sarah said.

Ellie didn't say anything for a moment as she processed what Sarah had told her. "Then that's good news! Chuck is alive! That's good news!" she finally said.

"Yes, yes, it's good news. Chuck is alive," Sarah said. And she couldn't hold her tears back any longer. Ellie hugged her. "What is it?" she asked.

It took Sarah a while to compose herself before she could talk. Then she finally said "I wanted to tell Chuck that I love him and …. I wanted to tell him that I love him and we were cut off before I could. I just wanted to tell him that I love him. So that he would know, so that he would know." She made absolutely no attempt to stop the tears that were now gushing from her eyes.

Ellie hug her tighter. "Chuck knows, Chuck knows," she said softly.

"I don't know if he does, I don't know if he does."

"He knows," Ellie insisted. "Just like you know that he loves you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chuck sat on the couch, the dead phone in his hand, staring at the floor. Ruby was in the kitchen and about to pour blueberries into the pancake batter. But after glancing at Chuck, she set the blueberries aside, wiped her hands on a towel, walked over to the couch and sat down beside him.

She took the dead phone from his hand and tossed it aside. Chuck didn't react, didn't say anything.

"Why didn't you tell her that you love her?" she asked softly.

Chuck said nothing at first. Then he replied in a small quiet voice. "I don't want her to get killed."

"How could saying that you love her kill her?"

"She's in a dangerous line of work. I was told that emotions can get in the way and can interfere, can get you hurt and even killed. And the last thing in the world I want for her is to get hurt."

"Whoever told you that, were they telling you that for HER benefit or THEIRS?" Ruby asked.

"I don't want her to get hurt," Chuck insisted.

Ruby reached out and gently stroked the back of his head with her hand. "Maybe you should talk to blondie –"

"Her name IS Sarah," Chuck snapped.

"Sorry. Maybe you should talk to Sarah about this and let her in on this decision. She may not want you to make decisions like that for her. And she may want to know why you don't express your true feelings for her."

Chuck was quiet for a few minutes. "Can I talk to her again?" he finally asked.

Ruby continued stroking the back of his head. Chuck didn't react to it. "I'm sorry," she replied. "It's not a good idea. When we took you, they wondered if she had something to do with your disappearance. They don't think that now but if she were to get frequent calls from you, it might cause trouble for her. But we're working on getting you back."

"Who are you?" Chuck asked suddenly. "Some kind of super hero, Terminator from the future or something?"

"Let's go with 'or something,'" Ruby replied.

She patted his knee as she got up. "Blueberry pancakes will be ready in a moment."


	5. Meetings

CHUCK VS. THE END

DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Chuck."

SUMMARY: A new intersect has been built and as a result, Chuck's life is in danger. But a mysterious man and woman intervene and save him.

NOTE: I know it will never happen this way on "Chuck." I just got this idea one day and decided to have some fun and do something strange. So expect something STRANGE and I hope you have fun reading this! And "THANK YOU!!!!" to all you reviewers! Your comments are appreciated!!!!!

PART 5 - MEETINGS

Sarah and Casey sat at the table in the basement of the Orange Orange waiting for the monitor to light up and their meeting with General Beckman to begin. Beckman had called the meeting and they were unsure of what was up.

Since Chuck's disappearance, the pair had tried to find out everything they could on Chuck's termination order and had been kept in the dark on any information. They had tried to set up a meeting with Beckman to plead Chuck's case but any meeting had been politely refused. Casey had clandestinely called in some favors from some people he knew and found out "off the record" that the Chuck situation had gotten chaotic internally since his kidnapping. What those people told Casey privately was that some high-ranking official, nameless at the moment, had been furious that a termination order had been issued on the person with the intersect, a very valuable resource, and that this official wanted Chuck found alive and unharmed NOW.

Casey relayed all of what he found out to Sarah. And since then, neither had learned anything further. And then Beckman called for this meeting. While waiting, Sarah had been thinking that man, Charles, had said that he could help Chuck. Did Charles have anything to do with this high-ranking official who wanted Chuck back alive unharmed?

The monitor finally came on and Beckman's face appeared on the screen. Someone else was with her, an older man dressed in a dark suit. Beckman did not introduce him. But she got right to the point.

"The termination order on the intersect had been revoked. The situation has changed," she said.

Sarah and Casey exchanged glances. Beckman continued.

"The new intersect failed. So we need the old intersect back. We want the old intersect back –"

"His name is Chuck," Sarah snapped.

"What?" Beckman said.

"You keep referring to him as 'the intersect' as if he is some sort of machine or mechanical part. He is a person and he has a name, Chuck, Chuck Bartowski," Sarah said staring acidly at Beckman's image.

The unidentified man arched his eyebrows but said nothing. Beckman looked as if she was about to respond directly to Sarah's remark but didn't. Instead, she continued her speech only this time using Chuck's name.

"We want Chuck back alive and unharmed. We need him. So all resources and all personnel have been directed to a search and rescue for Chuck Bartowski."

Sarah couldn't help issuing a sigh of relief. And she also noticed a slight grin quickly appear and disappear on Casey's face. This was good, Sarah thought, it was good. Chuck would be safe. But then she realized, he would be safe FOR NOW. This wasn't good. Something had to be done.

"And how long will that last?" she asked.

"Agent Walker, what do you mean?" Beckman replied.

"Chuck didn't ask for any of this. He didn't want this. The intersect was put into him without his knowledge or permission. He just woke up one day and discovered that his life was no longer his own. Then he gets dragged into dangerous missions and assignments and he does them without question or argument. He has risked his life many times and he has even saved our lives several times. And for what? He doesn't get any compensation of any kind, not even a thank you from you or anyone. And when you think you have a new intersect ready, you toss him aside like an old piece of clothing. He doesn't deserve that!" Sarah raged.

Before Beckman could respond to that, Casey spoke up.

"General, I agree. This isn't right. I was skeptical about Chuck at first but he's proven to be valuable. Sure, he still screws up now and then. But he's not even trained or anything. And yet, he always helps us. Chuck is an asset not a liability."

Beckman looked like she didn't know what to say. She looked at the unidentified man. He gave Beckman a serious look. She sighed.

"Well, you two do have a point. But if a regular intersect is successfully re-built, what do we do with a civilian who has all of that information in his possession? We can't just let him go on his way. It's too dangerous for him and for us."

An idea suddenly came to Sarah. And she spoke up.

"How many times have you tried to re-build the intersect and failed? Why don't you use Chuck for that? He has the intersect in him, he is a computer genius. Who better to re-build the intersect and keep it going than the person with the intersect?"

Beckman and that man looked surprised. Actually, they look dumbfounded, stupified, Sarah thought. She almost laughed out loud as their expressions seemed to say "Why didn't we think of that?"

"We'll consider that option," Beckman said. And she signed off.

"Walker, I think you just guaranteed a long life for Bartowski," Casey said after the screen went blank.

"All she said was that she would consider it," Sarah replied.

"When Beckman says that, it's as good as done. Trust me. I think Bartowski will have a new career. It looks like he will finally be able to leave the BuyMore."

Sarah smiled. Not only that, she thought, if Chuck does go to work on the new intersect, he would be in a different division. They wouldn't work directly together and there wouldn't be any non-fraternization rules or flack from above to prevent them from dating and getting married. Getting married? Where did that come from? She wondered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We're working on it!" was all Ruby said when Chuck asked her if he would ever get to go back home.

He had been here for five days now and not much had changed. Ruby still cooked his meals, made sure he was OK, took good care of him and spent a lot of time lying on the couch reading. She allowed Chuck to freely walk outside where he wanted, when he wanted with a cautionary "Don't worry about the dog!"

Dog? Chuck wondered as he went outside for the first time after his futile escape attempt. A dog suddenly was beside him the second he stepped off the porch of the house. At least, Chuck thought, it could be some sort of a dog.

It was all black, green eyes, and large. Large? It was monstrous. It was, Chuck decided, almost the size of a large pony or a small horse. When it looked at him, it was almost at eye level. And once, when it opened its mouth for a brief moment, the teeth inside that mouth reminded Chuck of the teeth that he saw in the shark in the "Jaws" movie.

But however large the dog was and however deadly its teeth looked, the dog didn't threaten Chuck nor show any animosity toward him. In fact, the dog showed no emotion at all. It didn't wag its tail or rub against him or try to lick him. Which Chuck was grateful for. It did not growl or bark or make any threatening moves toward Chuck. Which he was also grateful for.

The dog just … well … existed, Chuck thought.

It followed Chuck around wherever he went outside. When Chuck walked, it walked alongside him. When Chuck stopped to rest, the dog curled up or sat by him. Once during a rest stop, Chuck got brave and petted the dog. It opened his eyes and then closed them. The dog gave no sign as to liking or not liking the petting. The eyes just seem to say if that's what you want to do, go right ahead.

Chuck never found any more houses or other buildings like he did during his one escape attempt. It was all woods and meadows and ponds. Once, he thought he saw some sort of a cave. He started to walk that way but the dog blocked his path. It didn't growl or bark, just stood in his way. Chuck moved to the right and the dog moved that way and blocked him. Chuck moved to the left and the dog repeated his blocking maneuver. The dog wouldn't let him go that way. Chuck gave up and walked elsewhere.

When he finished walking and returned to the house, it didn't matter which way he headed back. All ways back always led to the house. And once he stepped onto the porch, the dog vanished.

After his first walk with the dog, he asked Ruby if it had a name.

"Cerberus," she replied without looking up from her book.

Cerberus, Chuck thought, that name was from mythology. It was the name of the dog ….

He stopped and stared at Ruby. She kept reading her book. He decided not to ask.


	6. Sightings

CHUCK VS. THE END

DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Chuck."

SUMMARY: A new intersect has been built and as a result, Chuck's life is in danger. But a mysterious man and woman intervene and save him.

NOTE: I know it will never happen this way on "Chuck." I just got this idea one day and decided to have some fun and do something strange. So expect something STRANGE and I hope you have fun reading this!

PART 6 - SIGHTINGS

"They found him," Casey told Sarah the second after he walked into the Orange Orange on the morning of the fourth day since Chuck has disappeared.

"Chuck?" she gasped.

He nodded. "They found him in downtown LA, wandering around in a daze. They have him in a holding cell and they want us to come right away,"

"Is he all right?"

"They said he appeared to be kind of out of it or something but otherwise seemed fine."

She rushed to her car, got in, started it. Casey barely made it inside before she sped the car out of the parking lot. It seemed to take forever to get there and much to Sarah's annoyance, every traffic light seemed to go against them. But they finally made it. The pair had just gotten through the security checkpoint, when a man who, upon finding out that they were there for Chuck Bartowski, introduced himself as "Agent Bennett" and stopped them.

"There's a problem," he said.

"What kind of problem? Is Chuck all right?" Sarah demanded.

Bennett didn't say anything and looked uncomfortable.

"Is he all right?" Sarah repeated.

Bennett started to speak and then he threw up his hands as if in frustration. "We made a positive ID. We made a positive ID."

"What is going on? Where is Chuck?" Sarah demanded.

"We got a report that Mr. Bartowski was spotted in downtown LA. We dispatched a team to check out the report. They confirmed that person was indeed Chuck Bartowski and they grabbed him and brought him here. We didn't have any problems at all. He came quietly and without any argument. We took him to a holding cell and we questioned him. He didn't say anything. He seemed as if he was in a trance or something. So the agents questioning him left the holding cell to get a doctor in there to check him out. And when they returned to the cell …"

Bennett paused. He shook his head and then finally said "It would be easier to show you!" and took Sarah and Casey down the hallway and into a room. It was an observation room with a one-way glass view into the holding cell. Bennett, upon entering the room, gestured toward the viewing glass and said "See for yourself!"

Sarah rushed forward and looked. "That's not Chuck!" she said.

"We know that!" Bennett groaned. "But we made a positive ID. We confirmed that it was him before we apprehended him. It was him! We got him! We made a positive ID. But when those agents came back to the holding cell, that man was in there, not Mr. Bartowski."

The man in the cell looked nothing like Chuck. Different colored hair, different eyes, different shape of face, and older than Chuck. How could anyone mistake him for Chuck? Sarah wondered.

She turned away from the viewing glass and marched through the side door and into the holding cell. As soon as she entered, the man sitting there, the man that had been mistaken for Chuck, blurted "Why am I here? What did I do?"

Sarah looked down on the table at the file folders. She opened one, found what she wanted, a photograph of Chuck. She held it out to the man. "Sir, could you please look at this photograph."

The man seemed puzzled but took the photo and glanced at it.

"Do you know that man? Have you seen him?" Sarah asked.

"No!"

"Sir, this is very important. Please look at the photo again carefully and think carefully. Please be sure!"

This time the man looked at the photo for several seconds. "I'm sorry. I don't know who this man is. I've never seen him before."

Sarah looked in the folder and found the sketches of Ruby and Charles. She held them out to the man and asked him to look carefully at those. But he didn't know who they were either.

Sarah left the holding cell and walked toward the building exit. Casey came out of the observation room and caught up with her.

"What did I tell you Walker. This is weird!" he said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The same thing happened later that afternoon. They were notified that Chuck had been found and brought in. And when he was put in a holding cell, Chuck was mysteriously replaced with someone else. Then it happened three times the next day. It had gotten to the point where Sarah and Casey didn't even bother driving out to check out these reports of Chuck being found. Every time it was reported that Chuck had been found, it turned out to be a false.

Two days after the "Chuck Sightings," as they came to be known, started, Sarah and Casey were called out to join up with a NSA unit on a college campus. They met an agent on the second floor of the student union building who upon their arrival took them to an edge of a walkway. He pointed down to the first floor where some people sat at a group of five or six tables.

"There! We think that's him down there at the second table. We got a positive ID but we were told to call the two of you in to confirm the ID since …. Well, you know what has been happening," he said.

He handed some small binoculars to Sarah who immediately looked through them down at the man at the table they thought was Chuck.

Sarah looked only a few seconds. It was Chuck, she thought, definitely Chuck. But she said nothing out loud and handed the binoculars to Casey.

Casey looked. "It looks like him to me," he said.

The agent sighed. "OK, I'll give the go-ahead to get him. But I have a feeling how this is going to turn out." He pulled out a walkie talkie.

"Wait," Sarah said. "Let me go down there!"

The agent stared at Sarah and then shrugged. "Why not?" he said and spoke into his walkie talkie, telling them that agent Walker was going to approach the subject.

Sarah raced down the stairway and upon getting to the first floor walked rapidly to the table where Chuck sat. At least it appeared to be Chuck, she thought. She kept her eyes on him, not allowing herself to blink, not wanting to miss anything if he should disappear like the other times.

When she was about 10 feet from him, she called his name. But he did not turn or react. He did not move at all. Five feet away and she called his name again. Chuck still did not turn his head or move.

One foot away, she reached out with her hand, placed it on his shoulder and called out his name, this time saying it softly.

Then something happened. Chuck seemed to shift or go out of focus and then come back into focus. Sarah wasn't sure what happened. But the result was that one moment, Chuck was sitting there and then the next moment he was not. A man who looked nothing at all like Chuck was suddenly there and acting very puzzled and surprised as to how he had gotten there.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It happened again. The same thing every time," Casey said on the drive back.

"Chuck is there and then he isn't," Sarah sighed.

"And you want to know something else strange?" Casey didn't wait for Sarah to answer. "Every one of those men who were mistaken for Bartowski – their first names are Charles. Even the guy today that we thought was Bartowski."

Sarah said nothing but once again wondered if that man, Charles, who had taken Chuck, was involved in these Chuck sightings or in some way was making them happen.

"It's like we're being tested or something," Casey said a while later.

"Tested for what?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know. Maybe these are probes to see what happens, to see what we do with Bartowski. To see if we harm him or something. To make sure it's safe to give him back. Sort of a test."

"Did we pass?" Sarah asked.

Casey didn't reply.


	7. The End

CHUCK VS. THE END

DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Chuck."

SUMMARY: A new intersect has been built and as a result, Chuck's life is in danger. But a mysterious man and woman intervene and save him.

NOTE: I know it will never happen this way on "Chuck." I just got this idea one day for something strange and weird for "Chuck." So expect something STRANGE and I hope you have fun reading this! This is the last chapter to this strange story I thought up. Are all the answers here and everything explained? Well, maybe and maybe not. There are clues for some explanations and other things I left open for you to interpret however you want! Remember! This is all for fun! If you do want to discuss or ask me questions about theories or explanations, feel free to send me a message. I have two other Chuck stories in the works that are more normal and aren't as strange as this. I hope to post them soon!

PART 7 – THE END

Sarah drove Casey back home, parked and then walked to Chuck, Ellie and Devon's place. She wondered if she should tell Ellie about these Chuck sightings. She didn't know if they were reason to hope or not.

She stayed at their place for a while, talking with Ellie and Devon. Sarah had been amazed at how Ellie had been doing. She was a lot stronger than Sarah gave her credit for. After a while, Sarah thought that if she couldn't actually be with Chuck, that she'd like to be near him. So she asked Ellie if she could sit in Chuck's room for a while. "I would just like to …." Sarah wasn't sure how to finish that sentence.

But Ellie smiled. "Sure, go ahead. I know he wouldn't mind. Spend as much time as you want in there."

Sarah walked to Chuck's room and entered. She paced around in it looking at pictures and posters on the wall and the shelves filled with books, DVDs, and other things. She looked at some of the titles. She looked over on the desk and saw their picture.

Back when this all started, back when he got the intersect and they started the cover relationship, she had given him a photo of the two of them together, to keep in his room and help sell the relationship to his sister and anyone else. It was a picture of them made up with some computer photo software.

He had liked it but later, after he had discovered all of the electronic bugs in the apartment, including the one in the frame of that photo, she had seen the photo discarded in the trash. She had never told him how that had hurt her. But then she realized that he was the one who had been hurt. He had felt played and betrayed by all of the listening devices that had been planted in his apartment and that the doctored, constructed, made-up photo was a reflection of that.

So later, she took a real photograph of the two of them together and gave him that one instead. She picked up the photo and looked at it. We look so happy together, just like a real couple, she thought.

She suddenly felt tired and sat down on his bed. She lay down and as her head hit the pillow, she could smell Chuck. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chuck woke up suddenly and found Ruby sitting alongside him on the bed. She looked tenderly at him as she reached down to his face and stroked his hair. "It's time to go," she said softly.

"Go?" Chuck replied.

"Home," she said. "It's time to go."

He wasn't sure if she was kidding him or not. What had happened at the BuyMore and what he had been through in the ensuing days had filled him full of doubts about whether or not his life would ever be the same again, if he could truly go back to what his life was before.

As if reading his thoughts, she spoke, still in a soft, tender tone. "Your life will be different. It won't be the same. It will change. But I think you're going to like a lot of those changes."

"You never have explained to me who you are, where I am or what this place is."

She sighed and smiled at him. "Charles took care of things back home. He ... handled things, set events in motion, and then made sure it was safe for you. I kept you here where it was safe and where you wouldn't be detected until that time."

"So you two are my guardian angels or something?" Chuck asked.

He expected to get the "Or something!" line again. But Ruby surprised him.

"I'm not an angel Chuck, definitely NOT an angel!"

"Then who, what?"

She sighed and smiled at him. "Would you really like to know who or what I am? Would you really like to see the true me? Do you remember that one agent at the BuyMore who tried to shoot you, the one who got to look at me – REALLY look at me? Do you remember his reaction?"

Chuck did. That agent had screamed in absolute terror.

"And now he's in a psych ward," she said seemingly able to read Chuck's thoughts. "Trust me. You don't want to know. You and everyone else wouldn't want the truth. You wouldn't believe it. You wouldn't want to believe it. Eventually, some logical, rational explanation will be thought up for everything that has happened to you and everyone will accept that. The important thing is that you're safe and alive. But I can tell you that a deal was made. A deal was made for your benefit."

"Who?"

"Someone who loves you. Someone who loves Ellie," Ruby replied.

She then held out a ring to him. "Put this on."

Chuck started to put the ring, a bright gold band, on his left hand but then Ruby scolded him. "I think you had better put that on your right hand. We don't want blondie getting the wrong idea."

"What is this?" he asked about the ring.

"I'm not sure why we were asked to give this to you. I think it may be a message."

"From who?" Chuck asked.

"I already told you. Someone who loves you. Someone who loves Ellie."

She ruffled his hair, and, still smiling at him, said "It's time."

"Will I ever see you again?"

Ruby's smile got bigger. "Thank you! You're sweet. I would love to keep you but I know I don't have a chance against blondie. And besides, when you have me in your life, you have trouble!"

And with that, she reached out with one hand and placed it on the front of his face. "This will hurt a little, but just a little."

Then Chuck could feel some sort of force like a tugging in his head. It did hurt but as Ruby said, it did not hurt a lot. Somewhere far away, he could hear her voice telling him goodbye.

That tugging force continued. He felt dizzy. And then he blacked out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Chuck opened his eyes, he was lying down and he couldn't move. Something was holding him down. He tried to see where he was and only saw yellow. Yellow? No. It wasn't yellow, it was blonde, blonde hair. Sarah's hair. Sarah? He was lying in a bed with Sarah on top of him. His left arm was in an awkward position. He needed to move it. But her body prevented any movement of his arm.

"Sarah!" he groaned.

"Mmmmm!" Sarah replied and she snuggled tighter against Chuck.

"Sarah, while you feel fantastic, I really need to move my arm. You're cutting off the circulation. Could you please just move off of it for a second?" Chuck whispered.

"Sure Chuck," she yawned. She started to move and then her eyes flashed open. As did Chuck's.

"CHUCK!"

"SARAH!"

They had both shouted each other's name at the same time. Both sat up in bed and stared at each other in shock.

"HOW DID YOU GET HERE? WAIT A MINUTE, I'M NOT HERE ANY MORE. I'M HOME. I'M IN MY ROOM. HOW DID I GET HERE?" Chuck yelled.

"CHUCK!" Sarah screamed. "YOU'RE ALL RIGHT! YOU'RE HERE!"

Then she hugged him, hugged him tightly. Chuck hugged her back. He couldn't believe that he was back and the first thing that happened was that he was in her arms. He heard noises in another part of the apartment. He looked up to see what was going on. But Sarah suddenly grabbed his face with both her hands and kissed him hard and passionately.

The rest of the world faded out for him. She kept kissing him and wouldn't let go. Then he heard the door to his bedroom flung open and Ellie screamed his name. She crashed onto the bed and hugged him and Sarah. Then Devon came in on the hug too.

Chuck felt mashed by the all of the arms and bodies pressed against him. And Sarah kept kissing him and wouldn't stop. Mashing never felt so good, he thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sarah, Ellie and Devon finally let Chuck go long enough to allow him to stand up off of the bed. Ellie and Devon stood off to one side looking at him and smiling. Sarah was right by his side, beaming at him and she clutched his arm, as if afraid that he would disappear.

They all moved out to the living room and sat on the couch. Sarah kept hold of his arm the whole way. And when they were all seated, Sarah still clutched his arm as she sat closely by him.

"Tell us what happened? Where have you been?" Ellie said.

"You're going to think I'm crazy," Chuck replied.

"Just tell us what happened."

So he did. He told them everything. They didn't interrupt him, didn't give him any strange or funny looks, didn't call him crazy. They just listened. And when he finished, he was the one who brought up crazy.

"Maybe I imagined it or dreamed it all. Maybe I got hit on the head and it damaged my brain or something. Maybe I was hypnotized or drugged," he rambled.

Sarah said nothing and placed her head on his shoulder and held his arm tighter. Both Ellie and Devon looked thoughtful. Finally Ellie spoke.

"I suppose anything is possible. But you know what? I don't care! The important thing is that you're back and you're safe and unharmed."

"I agree," Sarah said and smiled at Chuck.

Then Ellie's eyes went wide and she gasped. "Chuck! That ring!" she said pointing at his right hand.

Chuck had forgotten about the ring that Ruby had given him. He held up his hand.

Ellie reached out, grabbed his hand and pulled the ring off. She examined it closely. Her jaw dropped.

"Chuck! Where did you get this?" she exclaimed.

"Ruby gave it to me before she let me go."

Ellie looked again at the ring and then at Chuck. Her face registered shock and astonishment. She finally spoke.

"This is mom's wedding ring. I know it is because it has the inscription on the inside. It has been missing since …." Ellie did not finish the sentence. Chuck didn't know what to say.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ruby said that someone who loves me and loves Ellie made a deal for my benefit. My mother made a deal? But ... maybe I just hallucinated it all," Chuck said to Sarah.

"I don't care. What matters is that you're back, safe and sound. And that's all I'm concerned with," Sarah replied.

He and Sarah were alone in his room, sitting together on the bed. It was the first chance they had had to be alone since his return. Much to Chuck's delight, Sarah still sat closely to him and seemed to take every opportunity to touch him.

At present, she stroked his arm and stared down at it as she rubbed back and forth. Chuck looked at her. Eventually, she noticed and stopped.

"Sorry! It's just that I …. I really missed you," she said.

"I missed you too. REALLY missed you!"

They stared in each other's eyes, smiling at each other, and not speaking. Then Chuck broke the silence.

"Well I guess it will be back to the BuyMore and spy stuff as usual."

Sarah smiled. She hadn't yet told him about his new job, how he was going to be put in charge of rebuilding a new intersect. "Actually, it won't be back to the usual," she said. "You're going to have a new, more important job, kind of a promotion."

"What do you mean?"

"There's going to be changes, a lot of changes," Sarah said as she smiled brightly at him. And then she leaned in closer and kissed him. And as their lips met, Chuck realized that changes would not only be happening in the spy work but other parts of his life as well!

The End


End file.
